Not Just a Game

The film Not Just a Game covers a broad range of sports and politically charged topics.  The topics, which range from the militarization of football, sexuality in sports and whether athletes should take a political stance, are relevant in any sports conversation today. 

            One of the first points in the film I found interesting discussed the militarization of today’s sports culture.  The first aspect is how athletes, particularly football players, will use military lingo while describing their games.  The film plays a clip of then University of Miami tight end Kellen Winslow II saying “It’s war,” and later “I’m a f**kin soldier!” during a post-game interview after a particularly physical contest against Tennessee.  Another aspect of the militarization of sports is related to the presence of the military at the games themselves.  Starting with a coin toss from the most decorated General to the American flag hanging from the Green Monster, I think we can all say we’ve seen it.  Dave Zirin provides a first-hand account of going to a baseball game on “military appreciation night” and an announcement about where in the ballpark you can go sign up!

            Another interesting point from the movie relates to the brutality of football.  As Zirin comments in the film, “The average NFL career is three and a half years and the average player will die twenty years sooner than the rest of the population.”  This sounds like someone who is diagnosed with a terminal illness not a retired professional athlete.  The film also emphasizes this point during an interview in which former NFL player John L. Williams describes the ten different surgeries he’s had on only three different body parts.

            The third point of the film I found interesting was in regards to gender in sports.  During the 1967 Boston Marathon, which didn’t allow women, Kathy Switzer registered as “K. V. Switzer” and was given a registered number.  Once she was noticed by race officials, one of them ran out and tried to remove her from the competition.  The men running with her pushed the official out of the way and as Zirin describes “for them the Boston Marathon wasn’t about proving male supremacy, pitting boys against girls.  It was about people running a race.”

            One the other side of the coin, there were points in the film that did not exactly help the cause, in my opinion.  The first of which was the use of actual movies to emphasize the masculinity and brutality of football.  Clips from Varsity Blues and Patton were played and I felt them unnecessary when real life examples were available and suitable.  Trying to make a point about the real world and then using fictional movies to make it didn’t make sense.

            A second point in conflict was in regards to Muhammed Ali.  Ali is civil rights icon and as Zirin describes him: “When he believed in something, he believed in standing up for it outside of the ring.”  However, Ali was not perfect and his relationship with Joe Frazier is often left out of his accolades.  During their trilogy of fights, Ali often referred to Frazier as a “gorilla” and even said “It’s gonna be a thrilla in Manilla when I kill that gorilla” (Parker).  These inherently racist statements should be included when discussing Ali because it paints the entire picture for the audience.

            The final point of disagreement comes from the segment on Michael Jordan being a representative for Nike. As shown in the film, Jordan covered up the Reebok logo with an American flag during the 1992 Olympics because he had a contract with Nike.  Also, he was subject to skepticism in the public eye for not endorsing an African American political candidate in his state.  Michael Jordan is a very successful businessman and part of that is because of the loyalty to his own brand but also because he has been neutral politically.  Both of these things are within his right and athletes are not responsible for political opinions.  Recently, Jordan has donated money to social justice causes. (Neuharth-Keusch).

            One point of connection between the film and a chapter by Jeffery Bineham touches upon homophobia in professional sports.  In the chapter “Tragedy and Comedy as Ethical Responses to John Rocker,” Bineham references Rocker’s inflammatory and derogatory quotes from a 1999 Sports Illustrated article.  In the article, Rocker, at the time a pitcher with the Atlanta Braves, describes the people of New York City and is quoted as saying “some queer with AIDS” and “some 20-year old mom with four kids.”  This ties directly with quotes from former NBA player Tim Hardaway.  The film plays the recording of an interview Hardaway did after former NBA player John Amaechi came out as homosexual.  Hardaway says, “I let it be known I don’t like gay people.”  This point emphasizes that homophobia is still prevalent in professional sports.

            Another correlation to the movie comes from the chapter by Leonard, entitled “Eye Candy and Sex Objects: Gender, Race, and sport on YouTube.”  In his chapter, Leonard describes the sexually charged YouTube comments left on videos of female athletes Hope Solo, Alex Morgan and Allison Stokke, regardless of what the video was about.  This shows the anonymity of the internet lets sexist comments rise to the surface.  In the film, Zirin is quoted as saying that “in 2001 the only women to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated, this is a weekly magazine now, were the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.. from 1972!”  This shows that women are still treated as sex objects by even the mainstream media.

            A final point that connects the two is women’s tennis star Billie Jean King.  King not only started the Women’s Tennis Association, she also fought for equal pay for men’s and women’s tournaments but also defeated former men’s Wimbledon champion Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes.”  In his chapter, “Is Your Underwear Flame Retardant: Sexuality in Sports,” Zirin says “King was far more than an athlete or a symbol, she was an activist for women’s equal rights.”

             In the chapter “Ethical Foundations and Perspectives” Christians outlines five key ethical guidelines.  One of them is Mill’s Principle of Utility, which states “Seek the greatest happiness for the aggregate whole.”  This principle can be applied to the media’s coverage of women’s sports.  As Zirin mentioned in the film, “women’s sports now get five percent less airtime than twenty years ago.”  If the sports media covered both genders equally, happiness would be provided for the whole.

            Another ethical principle in the chapter by Christians is Aristotle’s Mean, which states “Moral virtue is a middle state determined by practical wisdom.”  This can be applied to the FOX football announcers wearing army fatigues during their broadcast from a base in Afghanistan.  FOX as a media company, is not living in the middle ground because they are actively supporting the military and complicit to selling its agenda.

            A third principle from Christians is “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  This can be applied to a portion of the media that covered the death of Pat Tillman.  When it was revealed that the military covered up the circumstances of Tillman’s death, his mother appeared on the news program 60 minutes to tell her side of the story.  By having her on, 60 Minutes is basically doing what it felt was right, and would do for any of its own which was to give a person the chance to tell the truth.

            The film Not Just a Game creates many questions about how politically charged issues in sports are covered today.  Sadly, it seems women and LGBT athletes are still subjected to decreased coverage and corresponding sexism and homophobia.  However, as more of these films are made and expose the skewed coverage on certain issues the more likely the playing field will be equal. 

References

Christians, et al.  Ethical Foundations and Perspectives (2012)

Bineham, Jeffrey. Tragedy and Comedy as Ethical Responses to John Rocker.  (2005)

Leonard, David J. Eye Candy and Sex Objects: Gender, Race and Sport on YouTube (2013)

Zirin, David. Is Your Underwear Flame Retardant: Sexuality in Sports (2013)

Neuharth-Keusch, AJ. Michael Jordan Donating $2 Million to help address police-related shootings. (2016)

Parker, Lonnae O’Neal. In Trilogy with Muhammed Ali, the words hurt Joe Frazier most. (2011)